Spain Deploys 324 Riot Police to Ceuta Ahead of Possible Mass Border Crossing
Spain is sending 324 additional riot police to Ceuta and Melilla as authorities brace for a potential mass crossing from Morocco on September 23.
In anticipation of online calls for a new mass border crossing on September 23, Spain has dispatched an extra 324 riot police to its enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The force comprises 180 officers from the Policía Nacional and 144 from the Guardia Civil, as announced by Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska. The calls coincide with Morocco’s legislative elections, prompting authorities to monitor social media and intelligence closely.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reported that Morocco’s Naser Burita has assured cooperation to prevent a large influx. The move follows the July 30 crossing, which left thousands still in Ceuta awaiting processing, and aims to avoid a repeat, though officials stress that a new crossing remains unconfirmed.
Why it matters
It shows Spain’s effort to prevent a repeat of the July border crisis and maintain stability on its North-African frontiers.
How this story developed
- Aug 21 Spanish police detain five suspected migrant smugglers operating from Ceuta
- Sep 10 Judge María Tardón filed a request for copies of the declassified intelligence reports.
- Sep 10 Regional economy minister asserted that the national government possessed advance intelligence on the Ceuta crossing and did not implement preventive measures.
- Sep 11 Czech and Hungarian leaders condemned the EU’s emergency aid for Ceuta.
- Sep 11 Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff to the Government delegate in Ceuta, stepped down after receiving CNI alerts about a massive migrant arrival.
- Sep 12 A police‑commissioned report described Moroccan border police as unusually sparse and granting migrants “total permission.”
- Sep 13 Minister Sira Rego urged autonomous communities to assume responsibility for Ceuta’s unaccompanied minors.
- Sep 13 The foreign minister announced an urgent trip to Brussels for talks with EU officials.
- Sep 16 The Guardia Civil raided a cramped apartment on Real street in central Ceuta, finding 25 migrants - six of them minors - living in squalid conditions.
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 The government and defence ministry secured an unprecedented public clarification from the CNI regarding the pre‑surge intelligence alert.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
- Sep 19 The port camp filled within hours, leaving many migrants still without shelter on the streets and beaches.
- Sep 20 Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly shifted blame onto Ceuta mayor Juan Jesús Vivas during a press encounter, intensifying the political dispute.
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